I have previously commented that people sometimes have faces that can step out of one era and fit right into another. This particular boy in no exception to that idea. He has a nice average face, nothing drastic or unusual. He is handsome in an unassuming way. The photograph was made in the 19th century, perhaps in the 1880s. The photographer was A. B. Cross.

I see it too. If I tilt my laptop, the screen gives an odd contrast that brings out some letters. Judging the age of young people in close-up portraits like this is a challenge for me. We can’t see his height, or other family members, and with his polished hair and new suit he could be 18 or 12.

Good eyes! I didn’t see it on the original. It appears to be a shadow or even a burn in of the Cross Photo logo. The backmark indicates it was A. B. Cross as seen in some of the previous photos from this group.